ERIC Number: EJ1438010
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 29
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1481-868X
EISSN: EISSN-1920-1818
Refugee-Background Students in Canadian French Immersion Programs: Exploring the Perspectives and Ideologies of Educators
Stephen Davis
Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics / Revue canadienne de linguistique appliquée, v27 n1 p96-124 2024
French immersion (FI) programs are becoming increasingly culturally and linguistically diverse as a result of growing migration to Canada. In the present mixed-methods study, I explore the perspectives and ideologies of teachers, principals, and central office staff in eight school divisions in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Alberta with respect to refugee-background students in FI programs. Through the triangulation of survey responses (N=126) and interviews (N=40), I examine perspectives pertaining to four themes: 1) suitability of FI for refugee-background students; 2) language learning; 3) challenges facing refugee-background students; and 4) supports and resources in FI programs. Adopting the theoretical perspective of sociolinguistics for change, I discuss three underlying ideologies shaping the perspectives of FI educators across the Canadian Prairies: 1) English-first ideologies; 2) deficit ideologies; and 3) ideological tensions between inclusion and support.
Descriptors: Refugees, Second Language Learning, Second Language Instruction, Immersion Programs, Inclusion, Language Attitudes, Ideology, Cultural Pluralism, Teacher Attitudes, Administrator Attitudes, Central Office Administrators, Student Characteristics, Educational Resources, Academic Support Services, Language Usage, Language of Instruction, Barriers, Foreign Countries, Kindergarten, Elementary School Teachers, Middle School Teachers, Sociolinguistics, Multilingualism
Canadian Association of Applied Linguistics / Association Canadienne de Linguistique Appliquée. Departement de langues, linguistique et traduction, Pavillon de Koninck, Universite Laval, Quebec, QC G1K 7P4, Canada. Web site: https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/CJAL
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education; Kindergarten; Primary Education; Junior High Schools; Middle Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Canada
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A